


The Eighth String of the Mandolin

by Kuroku



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Deviates From Canon, F/M, Multi, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Time Loop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24016087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuroku/pseuds/Kuroku
Summary: Barbatos knows more than anyone of the consequences should fate be tampered with. The problem with human beings is when they overstep their bounds by acting on their desires. As the dice rolls, all bets are left on Kyra to mend broken bonds.Spoilers for chapters 14-15 or so in the game!
Kudos: 8





	The Eighth String of the Mandolin

**Author's Note:**

> A few things about my character is that she's normally a happy go lucky goofball, just the circumstances in this arc is forcing her to take a more serious role.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and please let me know what things I can improve on or how you felt about this prologue!
> 
> (I wanted to make a character profile picture, but haven't had the time to draw.)
> 
> I recommend listening to Blue Bird Lamentation, Morphogenetic Sorrow, or whatever of the like if you want.

_“Alright then. I see what you’re saying, Kyra, and there is some logic to it. So how about we do this? I am going to assign you to a special task. And if you can manage to complete it all by yourself, I’ll let Belphegor go free.”_

It feels like an eternity walking through the halls of the Demon prince’s home. Kyra, the human exchange student, has agreed to Diavolo’s challenge to prove her worthy of being called a representative of humankind. Does she regret this? Maybe. She takes a moment to think back on everything that has transpired.

Kyra is just an average high school human girl. Shoulder length semi wavy messy black hair, dark purple eyes, and a big mouth that probably gets her in trouble more than it’s worth. She wears a pair of aviator goggles that she bought off Akuzon a long while back just because it looks cool. Other than that, your typical human being. To a demon however, she’s a prime snack for juicy pickings, so it isn’t like she has much choice but to follow through with whatever demands are necessary in the student program, save for a few things that aren't part of Diavolo’s goal.

It’s strange though… Why has she chosen to pry in the demons’ affairs? It isn’t like she has any business doing so. Perhaps part of it was due to Lucifer’s constant antagonization during her stay. It isn’t like she was doing anything wrong but each time she had gotten close with any of the brothers, Lucifer seemed to be ready to threaten her even to the point of possibly killing if it wasn’t for Diavolo’s terms. And gosh darn it did she ever want to rub it in his arrogant pretty face that… That…

Erm...

No matter how many times she tries to wrack her brain, Kyra can’t think of one reason why she did what she did. Perhaps it is because she couldn’t just turn away when others need help. Perhaps the demons made an impression on her with all the times they’ve spent together in spite of when she was in danger by the demons, but maybe that’s just what happens when you’re in the Devildom where demons live. Perhaps she was irritated with how they just seemed to have problems communicating with each other. Not that she was an exception, but she tries. And the brothers… They have been suffering this entire time, with all connections going back deep in the roots of the past. To Lilith. Now how can she release them from that pain to face the future?

Kyra stands in the room that Barbatos claims is his. A labyrinth of stairs and doors endlessly reaching out to eternity, complete with various candles, trees with exposed roots everywhere, some pillars out in the front, even some swords stuck on one of the stairs. Kyra swears she could feel a cold breeze coming in. Seriously, how does he even SLEEP?

"Remember what it is that I have cautioned you." Barbatos takes a brief bow, dark teal locks swaying before sending a small impeccable smile. "Now go. You must make haste."

Kyra hesitates at the door she was guided to for a moment. This is it... This sort of thing that one would only imagine in fiction books. How often was it that humanity yearned for the ability to go back in time? This is her chance to prove to Diavolo that she is fit to serve as a beacon of humanity, but...

Sensing the human's hesitation, Barbatos tilts his head inquisitively, “Are you alright, Kyra?”

The girl gulps, a thousand possibilities running through her mind. So many things could go wrong. What if she does something that changes everything? She runs a hand through her own black locks, muttering for a bit, “God, what a pain…”

The butler demon laughs lightly, “You’ll have to speak louder than that.”

Kyra, now flustered, shifts her purple eyes away from the amused demon and waving her hands wildly while stammering, “Y-yeah! I’m good, totally!”

Barbatos’s smile remains unchanged, “I’m glad to hear.”

Oh phew. Good. It looks like she managed to fake confidence.

“However, all we ask is that you do your best, please keep that in mind.”

Oh. So she’s that transparent.

Coughing rather loudly to regain composture, Kyra once more turns to the door. She can do this. She has to.

Slowly, she turns the knob and gently opens the door.

* * *

Yep. This is SO not worth it. Kyra backs up slowly as Belphegor, who is somehow released from his prison, towers above her menacingly. The human girl shakes in fear. First she was hurled into the realm of demons for some pet project, forced to never be able to come home until the term is over, having to do homework and tasks from RAD, threatened by demons who then turn a 180 and respect her, and now she is going to die. Alone. Unless something can be done.

She needs to do something, but what? Her panicked thoughts are interrupted by the demon cackling.

“Scared? Yeah, you should be. You filthy _human,_ ” spat Belphegor, drawing slowly closer, savoring the fear elicited. He stares down coldly through his black and white bangs, not caring to hide his murderous intent. Dark aura surrounds the seventh brother so intense that it is practically suffocating.

Kyra has to do something, but how do you calm down an irrational being who’s trying to kill you? Perhaps… If she could distract him…!

“W-why do you hate humans so much?” stammers Kyra, struggling to keep calm as she looks for an opening.

This seems to have worked a bit as Belphegor paused, “Why…?” He tilts his head back and laughs hollow. “Why should I even tell you? You don’t even know. All of you humans… Scum.”

This is bad.

“You all took HER away from ME!”

Really bad!

Kyra manages to scoot quickly back, avoiding the first blow by a mere few centimeters. She braces herself for Belphegor’s second attack and instinctively thrust her body further away with all her might, only to find nothing to support her.

“Ah…!”

A rush of adrenaline hit as she realizes that she went too far, enough to fall down the stairs backwards. She can only close her eyes shut bracing for impact, hands retracting to cover her head. 

White hot pain flashes as Kyra’s body tumbles further and further down the spiraling stairs like a pinball. The shock of it all nearly knocks her out as she slams against corner and wall, but the momentum keeps the fall going. Kyra barely clings to consciousness as she finally rolls down the final set of steps. It only takes a moment before the full force of pain kick in.

_‘Oh no… Oh no, no, no…’_

It hurts. She’s so close to the door… But it hurts. She manages to minimize potential damage, but holy hell it hurts.

It isn’t going to be long before Belphegor comes down after her, likely not going to give mercy. He will definitely kill her, certainly without a doubt.

But… She believes in the Belphie in the present that she knew. The one that is grateful for her and Beel, that ran away with her. 

Kyra just knows that Belphie isn’t a bad person. 

There just has to be a way.

A way to stop all of this.

If only she could… 

Reverse everything…

Kyra’s heart raced as she gasps for breath, struggling to hang on. She grits her teeth to distract her mind from her current state, purple eyes widening. Shit. She’s lucky that most of her body is ok, probably bruised, but her ankle is sprained bad. It’s so hard to move due to the pain, but she manages to get up somehow, albeit limping. Kyra just can’t give up. Not now, when Belphegor needs her.

Almost as if on cue, the demon descends the staircase quickly and effortlessly, jacket practically flowing from his murderous aura. Belphegor looks almost bored, violet pink eyes completely unfazed at the state of the human. “You know, this isn’t going to end well if you keep up this charade. At the very least Kyra, if you quit dodging, it’d be a quick death.”

Yeah. Kyra can tell the demon doesn’t really mean it. He means to cause as much pain as possible. No, not necessarily to her per say, but to Lucifer and the rest. She is just a bonus. Kyra can’t run as she would like in her state, despite being only a few feet away from the door.

According to Barbatos, to return to his room, all she has to do is knock on the door that was used to arrive and then go through it, but… The door she came through was the door to Mammon’s room. There’s no way she can outrun the demon and reach it in time. What to do…

Mammon had always said that if a demon was going to attack her, the best thing she could do is run… Mammon…

The thought of Kyra’s first demon friend made small tears prick her eyes. She can’t just die here!

In her state all she could do is just buy time. If she can appeal to Belphegor, just maybe… Kyra struggles to breathe in. She probably bruised her sides during the fall. “Belphegor, I’m not just here to rescue you…”

The boy tilts his head lazily with the same disinterested look. He doesn’t seem like it, but he’s listening at least. That is good.

“I can’t… I can’t just let it end like this…” Kyra’s voice shakes as she feebly grips her own arm in comfort, giving herself a false sense of a barrier. Small tears sting her eyes as she speaks out loud to herself, “What can I do to help you…?” 

Belphegor stares back at Kyra in dismay before laughing in disbelief. Really? Even now, when she needs to worry about herself, she is still thinking of others. How unbelievably stupid.

Stupid…

Stupid!

“Hey. Isn’t it obvious by now? There isn’t anything you can do. After all this is going on, you’re just still going on and on about wanting to help me?” The Avatar of Sloth glares, “You? You’re just a human. You don’t even understand anything.”

“Then, just tell me so that I can know!” Kyra shoots back firmly, before coughing. “I really do mean it, Belphie…”

“Don’t even call me that.”

“Okay then, but I just want to know what needs to be done so that you’d feel better.”

“Don’t make me laugh. You really want to know?” The demon responds cold, “Just die. And Lucifer and the rest will despair and feel the exact same pain I feel. That will make me happy.”

“That’s an obvious lie and you know it,” Kyra backs up a bit slowly, step by step, all while keeping her eyes on Belphegor wary. So far the demon hasn’t caught on. Good. “I know that’s not the case. There’s much more to it than that.”

Belphegor’s eyes narrow, “Even if I let you know, nothing is going to change. You can’t DO anything. You humans are at fault for everything.”

“If humanity did something so bad, then humanity should have the right to fix it. We won’t know unless we try!”

“You can’t bring Lilith back!” roars the demon of sloth, flailing out an arm. The girl is just so ridiculous! How dare she even pretend to care! How dare she even try to think for one moment that the endless pit of loneliness and despair could be lifted? There’s NOTHING that can be done, ever! And it’s all the fault of Diavolo, Lucifer, and everyone else! Especially humans! “She’s gone, and she’s **NEVER** coming back!”

Ah. Since when has tears started running down his eyes? It has been many, many years since he had been able to cry and let out his emotions. Belphegor grits his teeth as he balled his hands into fists. The hot wet tears just wouldn’t stop. They continue to flow on and on while the demon begins to tremble. This feeling of utter helplessness replayed many times in his memories, how he just couldn’t save her. How his brother practically betrayed him by siding with Diavolo. How everything was, and is, moving on without Lilith. Lilith! And there’s this girl who claims she can help somehow when she’s just a weak human being. She can’t even brush herself off after falling down some stairs for crying out loud.

And yet… Belphegor wants to believe. He dares to want. He dares to hope even when he doesn’t even have the right.

Kyra stood there watching as the demon let loose all the feelings of sorrow over his lost sister. She hesitates for a moment pondering whether to give Belphegor space. It’s a perfect opportunity right now. She could leave and get a head start back to Mammon’s room and go through the door back to her time.

But...

Just seeing Belphegor in obvious emotional pain, she just can’t bring herself to leave. Kyra lightly brushes some strands of her black hair over her ear and breathes out in frustration before deciding to just toss all worries aside. There is no chance she would even think of abandoning him right now. The human girl walks right back towards the demon and gently envelops him in an embrace.

Belphegor stiffens, widening his violet eyes in shock for a moment, glancing down at the human holding him securely in her arms. What is she doing?

“I’m sorry…” Kyra whispers quietly, “I really truly am.”

The demon can barely form any words. He can feel the shaking human’s heart beating rapidly. He can smell Kyra’s sweet scent enveloping him. It is familiar. Nostalgic. Human. Yet there is something else, but he can’t put his finger on it. It’s strange… But welcoming. _'She feels really warm...'_ Belphie thought, closing his eyes. His trembling has stopped. Come to think of it, back then Lilith always seemed to have been able to calm him down whenever he was sad…

“I hate you.”

The words ring hollow.

“I know.”

He hates how much he still loves humans.

* * *

It has been a while since the human girl left the door in his room, and Barbatos sighs while shutting his eyes. The demon siblings will surely be worried. He imagines that in some sort of way they all will be attempting to relieve their anxiety, and if the demon butler isn’t diligent it surely will come to chaos. For now, he will trust that the human will be doing as she should…

Barbatos closed his lime green eyes with a small smile before gently closing the door to the endless labyrinth of doors and stairs. The butler walked elegantly away, footsteps echoing in the hollow corridor.

“I wish you good luck, Kyra.”

* * *

Kyra really wants to tell Belphie the truth about everything. About Lucifer, about Lilith, about the time loop, about Diavolo, Beel, everything…

Lilith didn’t die in the war.

Lucifer made a deal to save her.

Diavolo made Lilith reincarnate as a human.

Beelzebub rescued Belphie and her and they tried to run away.

Belphie was caught by Diavolo.

Kyra is from the future.

But recalling Barbatos’s warnings, she can’t. She needs to be diligent and make sure not to reveal too much. She’s already technically broken a couple of rules, seeing as how she met the Belphie of the past when she isn’t supposed to let anyone see her. Kyra winces at the throbbing pain in her leg. All the adrenaline in her body had left, so there was nothing to numb it. The human glances back at Belphegor who is now laying his head against her shoulder breathing deeply.

It’s been a while since she held onto the demon while standing against the staircase. Belphegor had continuously yelled out frustrations, whispered bittersweet memories, and overall pain and guilt. Now, out of energy, he lays against Kyra wearily with closed eyes. He is just so tired. So, so tired.

Kyra closes her own eyes. She made up her mind. There is something she can do after all.

“Say… Belphie…” Oh right. He didn’t want to be called that by her, but she doesn’t care at the moment and probably he doesn’t either. Her purple eyes flare with strong determination and Kyra pulls back with a smile, fingers firmly grasping at the demon’s sleeves.

Belphie stares inquisitively at the human girl. She seems to have made up her mind about something, but what is it that’s so important? He then notices the girl’s leg starting to bruise. A twang of guilt befalls him. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so reckless… He owes the human an apology. What really surprises him however, is what Kyra says next.

“I’m going to save Lilith.”


End file.
